Two people charged in court in separate cases over alleged roles in unauthorised public assemblies

SINGAPORE – A woman who allegedly participated in six unauthorised gatherings to show her support for the Chinese spiritual movement falungong was on Sept 25 handed six charges under the Public Order Act.

Ng Chye Huay is accused of repeatedly taking part in public assemblies without permits.

Five of the gatherings took place at the Merlion Park between October 2024 and November 2025.

The 62-year-old is also accused of participating in an unauthorised assembly at the Anderson Bridge, near Merlion Park, in February 2026.

Her case is slated for a pre-trial conference on Oct 26.

In a separate case, a vice president at non-governmental organisation Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics was charged for his alleged role in three unlawful assemblies.

The court heard that S. Suraendher Kumarr, 32, allegedly took part in candlelight vigils, held near Changi Prison, linked to the executions of two Singaporean drug traffickers.

They include a vigil held on Nov 29, 2024 for Masoud Rahimi Mehrzad.

The 35-year-old was convicted in 2013 of trafficking 31.14g of diamorphine, or pure heroin, an amount sufficient to feed the addiction of about 370 abusers for a week.

The Misuse of Drugs Act provides for the death penalty if the amount of diamorphine trafficked is more than 15g.

Suraendher allegedly also took part in a vigil held on Jan 23, 2025 for Syed Suhail Syed Zin.

The 48-year-old was convicted in 2015 of trafficking 38.8g of pure heroin, which can feed the addiction of about 460 abusers for a week.

Suraendher is said to have been involved in a separate public assembly held on Feb 3, 2025 at the State Courts, a prohibited area, to call for capital punishment in Singapore to be abolished.

His case will be mentioned again on Oct 20, after the court granted the newlywed permission to travel to Britain from Sept 25 to Oct 4 for his honeymoon.

He has to surrender his passport to the authorities within 24 hours of his return to Singapore.

On Sept 9, six women were charged for taking part in public assemblies without a permit.

The unlawful events they allegedly took part in were mainly linked to the Gaza conflict.

Their cases are pending.

Those convicted of taking part in public assemblies without permits can be fined up to $3,000 for each charge, while taking part in an assembly or procession in a prohibited area can lead to a financial penalty of $5,000 for each charge.